Whenever I see that a band I grew up listening to in my junior high or high school days is putting out a new record, admittedly, it makes me a little bit nervous. I don’t know what to expect. I don’t know how high to set my expectations. I know I probably shouldn’t be expecting something life changing, and I almost hope that at 21 years old, I’m still not finding myself through pop punk bands I listened to when I was 15.

Taking Back Sunday’s “Happiness Is…” is the band’s sixth studio album, but only the third to feature the original lineup of frontman Adam Lazzara, guitarist/ vocalist John Nolan, guitarist Eddie Reyes, bassist Shaun Cooper and drummer Mark O’Connell.

Yes, the album does feature a more “mature sound,” a phrase we like to throw around when bands we listened to in grade school are entering their 30s, but it doesn’t sound at all like a band trying to reinvent themselves as “adults” or desperately try and sound like a record released 12 years ago (yes, “Tell All Your Friends” was released 12 years ago. Yes, you are old.)

Longtime Brand New producer Mike Sapone lends his hand in creating this 11 track, 40 minute LP.

After the introduction, the album’s opener is the first single, “Flicker, Fade,” which reminds me a lot of 30 Seconds to Mars’ “Kings and Queens,” a heavy wall of sound behind Lazzara’s voice. This song had me thinking the album would sound a lot along the lines of this, a longer, well polished and produced sound, but that wasn’t quite the case.

“Stood a Chance,” the album’s third track, is a good teaser for the rest of the album. It sounds much more like the Taking Back Sunday you’re probably used to. A more upbeat, fast chorus beating rhythm.

Tracks like “Beat Up Car,” “They Don’t Have Any Friends,” and “Better Homes and Gardens” are energetic tracks that are nostalgic enough to make you remember why you loved Taking Back Sunday in the first place, but modern enough to not make you feel like you’re back in 2006.

“Happiness Is…” is certainly not a disappointment, but it’s not a great album. It’s a good record that doesn’t sound thrown together or last minute. It sounds like a thought out, well put together project. If you like Taking Back Sunday, you’ll probably get a kick out of this, but it’s not going to be your go-to album.

Maybe our expectations are too high for these kinds of records. Maybe I’m just getting older. Maybe it’s a combination of both. Everybody has to grow up eventually, right?

Dominic Renzetti can be reached at 581-2812 or dcrenzetti@eiu.edu.